Ranveig Falch

• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2025). Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Journal of the European Economic Association. ISSN 1542-4766. doi: 10.1093/jeea/jvaf016. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In recent decades, there has been an increase in the share of males struggling in the labor market and education. We show in a set of large-scale experimental studies involving more than 35,000 Americans that people are more accepting of males falling behind than they are of females falling behind, and less in agreement with government policies supporting males falling behind. We provide evidence of the underlying mechanism being statistical fairness discrimination: People consider males falling behind to be less deserving of support than females falling behind because they are more likely to believe that males fall behind due to lack of effort. These findings are important for understanding how society perceives and responds to the growing number of disadvantaged males.

• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2025). Acceptance of Inequality Between Children: Large-Scale Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. The Economic Journal. ISSN 0013-0133. 135(667), p. 999–1020. doi: 10.1093/ej/ueae097. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In a novel large-scale experiment, we study how adults in two societies, Shanghai (China) and Norway, make real distributive decisions involving children. We find that acceptance of inequality between children increases with the ages of the children, is affected by the source of inequality and the cost of redistribution, and is lower than acceptance of inequality between adults. We document a large cross-societal difference in inequality acceptance: adults in Shanghai implement twice as much inequality between children compared with adults in Norway. Finally, we show that the willingness to accept inequality between children is predictive of attitudes to child policies.

• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2024). Acceptance of Inequality Between Children: Large-Scale Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. The Economic Journal. ISSN 0013-0133. p. 1–22. doi: 10.1093/ej/ueae097. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In a novel large-scale experiment, we study how adults in two societies, Shanghai (China) and Norway, make real distributive decisions involving children. We find that acceptance of inequality between children increases with the ages of the children, is affected by the source of inequality and the cost of redistribution, and is lower than acceptance of inequality between adults. We document a large cross-societal difference in inequality acceptance: adults in Shanghai implement twice as much inequality between children compared with adults in Norway. Finally, we show that the willingness to accept inequality between children is predictive of attitudes to child policies.

• Falch, Ranveig (2022). How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? European Economic Review. ISSN 0014-2921. 150. doi: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2022.104285. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2021). Solidarity and fairness in times of crisis. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. ISSN 0167-2681. 186, p. 1–11. doi: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.03.017. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2020). Fair and Unfair Income Inequality. In Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Vivarelli, Marco (Ed.), Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer Nature. ISSN 9783319573656. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_130-1. Full text in Research Archive
• Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Falch, Ranveig & Hernæs, Ulrikke Johanne Voltersvik (2016). Gender, context and competition: Experimental evidence from rural and urban Uganda. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics. ISSN 2214-8043. 61, p. 31–37. doi: 10.1016/j.socec.2016.02.001. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  We analyze the willingness to compete among secondary school students in an urban and a rural context in Uganda. We find no significant gender bias in competitiveness in the urban context, while in the rural context females are significantly less competitive than males. The willingness to compete among males is not sensitive to location. These results hold when controlling for knowledge, confidence, attitude towards risk, and individual and household background variables. Our analysis suggests that context is an important determinant of willingness to compete, and we propose that attitudes towards gender equality may be an important factor in shaping these preferences for females.

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• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Ø. & Tungodden, Bertil (2026). How the World Responds to Men and Women Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Sørensen, Erik Ø.; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2026). The moral acceptability of self-interested behavior. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Ø. & Tungodden, Bertil (2026). How the World Responds to Men and Women Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2026). Peer Perceptions and Students' Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2025). Why society offers less sympathy when men fall behind. doi: https:/aibm.org/research/why-society-offers-less-sympathy-when-men-fall-behind/. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2025). Peer Perceptions and Students' Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2025). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2025). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2025). The moral acceptability of selfishness. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig; Almås, Ingvild; Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2025). Fairness Across the World. [Radio]. NRK P2. doi: https:/radio.nrk.no/serie/kompass/sesong/202509/DMTL36410425. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2025). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2025). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2025). How the World Responds to Men and Women Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2023). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2023). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2023). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2023). Peer Perceptions and Students' Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2023). Is it morally acceptable to be selfish? Full text in Research Archive
• Landaud, Fanny & Falch, Ranveig (2022). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Tungodden, Bertil & Huang, Zhongjing (2022). Det rettferdige mennesket? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2022). Fair and Unfair Income Inequality. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2022). Acceptance of inequality between children: Large-scale experimental evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2022). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig & Landaud, Fanny (2022). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2022). Is it morally acceptable to be selfish? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2022). Is it morally acceptable to be selfish? Full text in Research Archive
• Landaud, Fanny & Falch, Ranveig (2021). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Landaud, Fanny & Falch, Ranveig (2021). Peer Perceptions and Students’ Investments in Schoolwork. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2021). The Development of Inequality Acceptance: Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2021). Is it morally acceptable to be selfish? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2020). What Do You Owe Your Neighbor? The Pandemic Might Change Your Answer. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2020). How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2020). Koronakrisen endret amerikaneres moral. [Internet]. Forskning.no. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2020). – Jeg har felt mange tårer. Det er trist å ikke kunne gi sin egen far en klem. [Journal]. Bergens Tidene. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2020). Slik endrer koronakrisen amerikanerne. [Journal]. Bergens Tidene. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2020). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2020). How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2020). How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2020). How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2020). The Coronavirus Is Changing How Americans View One Another. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2019). How do adults distributive conflicts among children? Experimental evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2019). How Do Adults Handle Distributive Conflicts Among Children? Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2019). The Development of Social Preferences: Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2019). How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2019). How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhonjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2019). How do adults handle distributive conflicts among children? Experimental evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2019). How Do We Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). The Development of Social Preferences: Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2018). How Do We Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2018). How Do We Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhonjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). How do adults handle distributive conflicts among children? Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). How do adults handle distributive conflicts among children? Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). How do adults handle distributive conflicts among children? Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig (2018). How Do We Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). How do adults handle distributive conflicts among children?Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). How do adults handle distributive conflicts among children? Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). How do adults handle distributive conflicts among children? Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). How do adults handle distributive conflicts among children? Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2018). How do adults handle distributive conflicts among children? Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2017). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2017). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2017). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2017). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2017). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2017). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract: It is well established that there is a gender bias in top-level jobs where males dominate. However, there is also an increasing worry of a gender bias in the lower tail of education and labor market outcomes, often termed the 'boy crisis'. What can explain these patterns? In this project, we study experimentally whether people consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do, using a novel design implemented on a representative sample of Americans. The participants make distributive choices involving males and females and we randomly manipulate the gender composition in the distributive situations. We show that people find it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do when outcomes reflect merit. We provide evidence showing that this result is not driven by a general preference for females, but is specific to how people redistribute in merit environments where males perform worse than females. We argue that this finding may shed light on the gender discrimination against males in different parts of society.

• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2017). The boy crisis: Do we consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  It is well established that there is a gender bias in top-level jobs where males dominate. However, there is also an increasing worry of a gender bias in the lower tail of education and labor market outcomes, often termed the 'boy crisis'. What can explain these patterns? In this project, we study experimentally whether people consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do, using a novel design implemented on a representative sample of Americans. The participants make distributive choices involving males and females and we randomly manipulate the gender composition in the distributive situations. We show that people find it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do when outcomes reflect merit. We provide evidence showing that this result is not driven by a general preference for females, but is specific to how people redistribute in merit environments where males perform worse than females. We argue that this finding may shed light on the gender discrimination against males in different parts of society.

• Tungodden, Bertil; Cappelen, Alexander Wright & Falch, Ranveig (2017). The boys crisis: Do we consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do? Full text in Research Archive
• Tungodden, Bertil; Cappelen, Alexander Wright & Falch, Ranveig (2017). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  It is well established that there is a gender bias in top-level jobs where males dominate. However, there is also an increasing worry of a gender bias in the lower tale of education and labor market outcomes, often termed the 'boys crisis'. What can explain these patterns? In this project, we study experimentally whether people consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do, using a novel design implemented on a representative sample of Americans. The participants make distributive choices involving males and females and we randomly manipulate the gender composition in the distributive situations. We show that people find it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do when outcomes reflect merit. We provide evidence showing that this result is not driven by a general preference for females, but is specific to how people redistribute in merit environments where males perform worse than females. We argue that this finding may shed light on the gender discrimination against males in different parts of society.

• Tungodden, Bertil; Bjorvatn, Kjetil & Falch, Ranveig (2017). The boys crisis: Do we consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  It is well established that there is a gender bias in top-level jobs where males dominate. However, there is also an increasing worry of a gender bias in the lower tale of education and labor market outcomes, often termed the 'boys crisis'. What can explain these patterns? In this project, we study experimentally whether people consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do, using a novel design implemented on a representative sample of Americans. The participants make distributive choices involving males and females and we randomly manipulate the gender composition in the distributive situations. We show that people find it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do when outcomes reflect merit. We provide evidence showing that this result is not driven by a general preference for females, but is specific to how people redistribute in merit environments where males perform worse than females. We argue that this finding may shed light on the gender discrimination against males in different parts of society.

• Tungodden, Bertil; Cappelen, Alexander Wright & Falch, Ranveig (2017). The boys crisis: Do we consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  It is well established that there is a gender bias in top-level jobs where males dominate. However, there is also an increasing worry of a gender bias in the lower tail of education and labor market outcomes, often termed the 'boys crisis'. What can explain these patterns? In this project, we study experimentally whether people consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do, using a novel design implemented on a representative sample of Americans. The participants make distributive choices involving males and females and we randomly manipulate the gender composition in the distributive situations. We show that people find it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do when outcomes reflect merit. We provide evidence showing that this result is not driven by a general preference for females, but is specific to how people redistribute in merit environments where males perform worse than females. We argue that this finding may shed light on the gender discrimination against males in different parts of society.

• Tungodden, Bertil; Cappelen, Alexander Wright & Falch, Ranveig (2016). The Boys Crisis: Do we Consider it More Acceptable when Males Fall Behind Than When Females Do? Full text in Research Archive
• Tungodden, Bertil; Cappelen, Alexander Wright & Falch, Ranveig (2016). The boys crisis: Do we consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females do? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2016). The boys crisis: Do we hold men more responsible than women? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2016). The boys crisis: Do we hold men more responsible than women? Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig; Cappelen, Alexander Wright & Tungodden, Bertil (2016). Do we consider it more acceptable when males fall behind than when females  do? Full text in Research Archive
• Tungodden, Bertil; Cappelen, Alexander Wright & Falch, Ranveig (2016). Do We Consider it More Acceptable When Males Fall Behind than When Females Do? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2016). Do we hold men more responsible than women? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2015). Do we hold men more responsible than women? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2015). Do we hold men more responsible than women? Full text in Research Archive
• Falch, Ranveig; Cappelen, Alexander Wright & Tungodden, Bertil (2015). Do we hold men more responsible than women? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2015). Do we hold men more responsible than women? Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2015). Do we hold men more responsible than women? Full text in Research Archive
• Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Falch, Ranveig & Hernæs, Ulrikke Johanne Voltersvik (2014). Gender, context and competition. Full text in Research Archive
• Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Falch, Ranveig & Hernæs, Ulrikke Johanne (2013). Gender, context and competition. Findings from a lab experiment in Uganda. Full text in Research Archive
• Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Falch, Ranveig & Hernæs, Ulrikke Johanne (2013). Gender, context and competition. Findings from a lab experiment in Uganda. Full text in Research Archive
• Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Falch, Ranveig & Hernæs, Ulrikke Johanne (2013). Gender, context and competition. Findings from a lab experiment in Uganda. Full text in Research Archive
• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2023). Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Norges Handelshøyskole, Institutt for samfunnsøkonomi. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In recent decades, an increasing share of males struggle in the labor market and education. We show in a set of large-scale experimental studies involving more than 30,000 Americans that people are more accepting of males falling behind than females falling behind and less supportive of government policies supporting males falling behind. We provide evidence of the underlying mechanism being statistical fairness discrimination: people consider males falling behind to be less deserving of support than females falling behind because they believe that males are more likely than females to fall behind due to lack of effort. The findings are important for understanding how society perceive and respond to the growing number of disadvantaged males.

• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing & Tungodden, Bertil (2022). Acceptance of inequality between children: Large-Scale Experimental Evidence from China and Norway. Norges Handelshøyskole, Institutt for samfunnsøkonomi. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In a novel experimental design with nearly 10,000 adults and children, we study how adults in two societies characterized by very different levels of income inequality, Shanghai (China) and Norway, make real distributive choices involving children. We document a large cross-societal difference in the acceptance of inequality between children: adults in Shanghai implement twice as much inequality between children as do adults in Norway. This finding is robust to varying the age of the children and key features of the economic environment. Finally, we show that the willingness to accept inequality between children is predictive of attitudes to child policies.

• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig; Sørensen, Erik Øiolf & Tungodden, Bertil (2021). Solidarity and Fairness in Times of Crisis. Norges Handelshøyskole, Institutt for samfunnsøkonomi. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In a large-scale pre-registered survey experiment with a representative sample of more than 8,000 Americans, we examine how the COVID-19 pandemic causally affects people’s solidarity and fairness. We randomly manipulate whether respondents are asked general questions about the crisis before answering moral questions. By making the pandemic particularly salient for treated respondents, we causally identify how the crisis changes moral views. We find that the crisis makes respondents more willing to prioritize society’s problems over their own problems, but also more tolerant of inequalities due to luck. We show that people’s moral views are strongly associated with their policy preferences for redistribution. The findings suggest that the pandemic may alter the moral and political landscape in the United States and, consequently, the support for redistribution and welfare policies.

• Falch, Ranveig (2021). How Do People Trade Off Resources Between Quick and Slow Learners? Institutt for samfunnsøkonomi, Norges Handelshøyskole. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  How society invests in human capital is important for economic growth and social welfare. The paper reports from the first experiment designed to elicit people’s preferences for how to prioritize educational resources, where 2,000 Americans trade off educational resources between quick and slow learners. I find that they give strong priority to slow learners and assign two thirds of the educational resources to this group. Both cost efficiency and the motivation of the learners causally affect the resource allocation. The findings provide important insights for the present policy debate on how to distribute educational resources in society.

• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2019). The boy crisis: Experimental evidence on the acceptance of males falling behind. Institutt for samfunnsøkonomi, NHH. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The ‘boy crisis’ prompts the question of whether people interpret inequalities differently depending on whether males or females are lagging behind. We study this question in a novel large-scale distributive experiment involving more than 5,000 Americans. Our data provide strong evidence of a gender bias against low-performing males, particularly among female participants. A large set of additional treatments establishes that the gender bias reflects statistical fairness discrimination. The study provides novel evidence on the nature of discrimination and on how males falling behind are perceived by society.

• Cappelen, Alexander Wright; Falch, Ranveig & Tungodden, Bertil (2019). The Boy Crisis: Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind. Institutt for samfunnsøkonomi. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The ‘boy crisis’ prompts the question of whether people interpret inequalities differently depending on whether males or females are lagging behind. We study this question in a novel large-scale distributive experiment involving more than 5,000 Americans. Our data provide strong evidence of a gender bias against low-performing males, particularly among female participants. A large set of additional treatments establishes that the gender bias reflects statistical fairness discrimination. The study provides novel evidence on the nature of discrimination and on how males falling behind are perceived by society.

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